BikeThrow.com

 Send to Friend

Minneapolis, MN

A last lap mechanical was not enough to stop Doug Swanson (Grandstay) from winning the 2007 State CX title on Saturday afternoon in Crystal, Minnesota. Finishing a few moments behind Swanson was a late charging Adam Bergman (Bianchi/Grand Performance). Aric Hareland came in 4th overall to take the last step of the podium since the 3rd place finisher, Kurt Refsnider (Fort), hailed from Boulder, Colorado.

With the 2007 Chequamegon champion Jesse Lalonde (Bob Brown Cycles/BKB) of Madison, Wisconsin and his brother Marko (Bob Brown Cycle/BKB) making the trip west to Minneapolis, the race was stacked with big hitters, even though Bjorn Selander (Ridley) was out east contesting at the USGP event in New Jersey.

From the gun the race was hot and Swanson, Bergman, Hareland and Refsnider took an early lead with a group containing the Lalonde brothers about 20 seconds back. A few laps later it became evident that Swanson was on top form and he began to pull away from the rest. Bergman kept it close enough to keep Swanson at top speed, so when a tubular rolled off Swanson’s rear rim on an off camber turn there was a collective gasp as Swanson fought to remount the tire for the last half of the final lap.

The expected showdown between Linda Sone (Ridley) and Linda Cooper (Great Plains) never materialized as Cooper wasn’t on top form this Saturday (ed-we have been informed that Cooper had rolled a tubular on the first lap, thanks to Bruce Adelsman for the note), but that didn’t mean the competition in the women’s race wasn’t exciting. Although Sone was able to take the early lead, Maria Stewart (Velo Bella) kept it interesting with a very impressive performance to take 2nd place well ahead of Kyia Malenkovich (Head Method/Revolution) who rounded out the podium.

The course was a little bit different from years past, but still featured the famous staircase in the middle of the woods where a ton of fans gathered to watch today’s festivities. There was also a huge showing of fans on top of the hill near a set of barriers that was offering whiskey handups throughout the day’s races with many local legends taking part, including 4x State ROY champion Theresa Moriarty (Flanders) throwing down much to the amazement of the fans:

(photo credit stevencx)

Congrats to all of the State CX winners, and remember to check back here later this weekend for more coverage of the 2007 Minnesota State Cyclocross Championships.

Men’s Elite Top Finishers:

1. Doug Swanson (Grandstay)
2. Adam Bergman (Bianchi/Grand Performance)
3. Kurt Refsnider (Fort)
4. Aric Hareland (Hollywood/Silver Cycling)
5. Marko Lalonde (Bob Brown Cycles/BKB)

Women’s Elite Top Finishers:

1. Linda Sone (Ridley)
2. Maria Stewart (Velo Bella)
3. Kyia Malenkovich (Head Method/Revolution)